Keep your eyes open and your camera ready

My name is Ryan Blaske and I’m a full-time freelance videographer from the American Midwest.

Growing up in the Midwest, there are not always as many opportunities as you might find in the big city — so we tend to make our own opportunities and work with what we have.

I want to talk to you today about how I use what I have at my disposal to create stock footage. There are always opportunities to create.

Always have a camera with you.

You’ve heard the saying “the best camera is the one you have on you”. I usually take a small DSLR with me everywhere I go. During my non-working hours, I will walk around and find interesting things to shoot that could be used for stock footage.

This helps me be creative all the time, and ensures I have an eye out for interesting composition and lighting.

Here are some clips I was able to capture because I had a camera on me and took a few seconds to capture each moment.

Create your own shoots.

As some of you might know, this year the Midwest was hit with an “arctic blast” with temperatures in the -30s F. This obviously kept me inside for a few days, with not much to do.

I had recently bought a vintage globe at a thrift store and this sparked some creativity during this very cold time. I blacked out my room with blankets, did some dramatic lighting and created a sequence of shots featuring the globe.

Another time I created something with what I had on hand, was with these Edison bulbs I had purchased and a cheap light dimmer. I have a small brick wall in the basement, so I propped the light up next to the bricks and worked for about an hour with different angles and dimming speeds. I was very pleased with how the final product came out and it cost me next to nothing.

https://vimeo.com/169884173/098b3063d0

Don’t let where you live — or your circumstances — hold you back from creating. You can always find something to work with. You just need to keep your eyes open.